Flow process and visible-light driven reactions for polymer manufacturing. This project aims to develop rapid, scalable light-driven continuous flow processing techniques that allow the production of value-added synthetic polymers that cannot be achieved by existing technologies. The project will take advantage of the spatio-temporal control of the light mediated polymerisation with flow process to achieve control over the primary structure, the sequential arrangement of monomer units in a polym ....Flow process and visible-light driven reactions for polymer manufacturing. This project aims to develop rapid, scalable light-driven continuous flow processing techniques that allow the production of value-added synthetic polymers that cannot be achieved by existing technologies. The project will take advantage of the spatio-temporal control of the light mediated polymerisation with flow process to achieve control over the primary structure, the sequential arrangement of monomer units in a polymer chain and the molecular weight distribution. The project will result in the preparation of functional polymers containing a specific arrangement of monomers in the polymer chain and a precise distribution of polymer chains. The development of such process will result in the development of advanced materials.Read moreRead less
Fatigue in Lead-free Piezoceramics. This project aims are to achieve a fundamental understanding of the fatigue behaviour of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics which achieve high strain through phase transformations and then ascertain the effects of this behaviour on material degradation rates. The expected outcomes will facilitate replacement of toxic lead in commodity electronics. The focus will be on new lead-free bismuth-alkali-based piezoelectric ceramic systems which demonstrate exciting pot ....Fatigue in Lead-free Piezoceramics. This project aims are to achieve a fundamental understanding of the fatigue behaviour of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics which achieve high strain through phase transformations and then ascertain the effects of this behaviour on material degradation rates. The expected outcomes will facilitate replacement of toxic lead in commodity electronics. The focus will be on new lead-free bismuth-alkali-based piezoelectric ceramic systems which demonstrate exciting potential as alternate materials to lead zirconate titanate (PZT) materials. Successful optimisation of the materials' design and knowledge of their degradation rates are expected to facilitate their commercialisation through a profound reduction in the environmental challenges associated with manufacture and disposal of devices.Read moreRead less
Development of Novel Spin Caloritronic Materials and Devices for Heat Management in Nanoelectronic Systems. Spin caloritronics is a new field that combines concepts from spintronics and thermoelectricity. This project is inspired by spin Seebeck effect observed in magnetic insulators and motivated by the basic requirements of nanoscale heat management devices. Such devices are the key components promising to surmount fundamental limits of microelectronic technologies with heat dissipation and p ....Development of Novel Spin Caloritronic Materials and Devices for Heat Management in Nanoelectronic Systems. Spin caloritronics is a new field that combines concepts from spintronics and thermoelectricity. This project is inspired by spin Seebeck effect observed in magnetic insulators and motivated by the basic requirements of nanoscale heat management devices. Such devices are the key components promising to surmount fundamental limits of microelectronic technologies with heat dissipation and power consumption as the size of charge-based logic devices shrinks into nanometre scale. This program is aimed at experimental and theoretical development of novel spin caloritronic materials with spin Seebeck effect at ambient temperature, which is orders of magnitude higher than state-of-the-art materials, for heat management in nanoelectronic systems.Read moreRead less
Modification of optical properties of photocatalytic titania. The aim of the project is to capitalise on and optimise the recently discovered successful modification of the optical properties of titanium oxide (TiO2), such that efficient solar splitting of water is possible. TiO2 photocatalysts of adequate efficiency will be implemented as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells capable of large-scale production of hydrogen.
Multifunctional 2D materials for sustainable energy applications. This project seeks to explore the great potential of novel graphene-like two dimensional (2-D) materials for energy applications. 2-D materials, which possess atomic or molecular thickness and infinite planar lengths, are regarded as a building block for many applications due to their unique nanostructures, electronic and mechanical properties. This project is focused on the design and exploration of layered two-dimensional artifi ....Multifunctional 2D materials for sustainable energy applications. This project seeks to explore the great potential of novel graphene-like two dimensional (2-D) materials for energy applications. 2-D materials, which possess atomic or molecular thickness and infinite planar lengths, are regarded as a building block for many applications due to their unique nanostructures, electronic and mechanical properties. This project is focused on the design and exploration of layered two-dimensional artificial graphene and graphene analogues with ‘on-demand’ properties to exploit advanced energy applications. There is now a pressing need to integrate graphene sheets into multidimensional and multifunctional systems with spatially well-defined configurations, and integrated systems with a controllable structure and predictable performance. Project outcomes may lead to next-generation devices in energy storage and other applications.Read moreRead less
Bioinspired Flexible Haptic Memory Materials for Artificial Sensory Nerves. This project aims to develop next generation haptic memory materials for the applications of artificial sensory nerves, which can precisely detect, process and respond to mechanical stimuli. The project expects to achieve this aim by mimicking the functions of biological haptic memory system and integrating highly sensitive tactile sensors and synaptic devices into artificial sensory nerves. The anticipated outcomes wil ....Bioinspired Flexible Haptic Memory Materials for Artificial Sensory Nerves. This project aims to develop next generation haptic memory materials for the applications of artificial sensory nerves, which can precisely detect, process and respond to mechanical stimuli. The project expects to achieve this aim by mimicking the functions of biological haptic memory system and integrating highly sensitive tactile sensors and synaptic devices into artificial sensory nerves. The anticipated outcomes will be new electronic materials for a wide range of end uses in next-generation flexible sensor technologies including healthcare monitoring devices, intelligent soft robotic systems and neural prosthetics.Read moreRead less
Development of nanostructured sensors for ultra-sensitive, label-free and selective detection of biological and chemical species. Outcomes will significantly advance the technical and fundamental understanding of sensor assembly and provide guidelines for developing and manufacturing nanostructured sensors, which is critical for next generation nanoscale sensing platforms for health care, medical diagnostics and chemical detection and Australia's emerging sensor industries.
Cold catalysis for water splitting. This project aims to develop photocatalysts via AC magnetic field through nanoscale heating for efficient H2 generation. This project is to introduce cold catalysis concept, which heats catalysts only but not solution, thus called cold catalysis, in the area of production of renewable energy. Expected outcome is the creation of clean and low cost catalysts to effectively harvest the chemical energy from the sun via splitting of water into H2 and O2 without cau ....Cold catalysis for water splitting. This project aims to develop photocatalysts via AC magnetic field through nanoscale heating for efficient H2 generation. This project is to introduce cold catalysis concept, which heats catalysts only but not solution, thus called cold catalysis, in the area of production of renewable energy. Expected outcome is the creation of clean and low cost catalysts to effectively harvest the chemical energy from the sun via splitting of water into H2 and O2 without causing any environmental damage. This unique technology will also help to address clean energy generation, which is in line with H2 economy plan by Australia government, and provide opportunities for new industries that will benefit Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Two-dimensional plasmonic heterogeneous nanostructures for photocatalysis. This project aims to design and explore two-dimensional heterogeneous photocatalysts that can convert solar energy into usable chemical energy. This project will investigate the correlation between surface plasmonic resonance and photocatalytic activities on the atomic level. Heterogeneous engineering and in-situ investigation of atomic-level photocatalytic dynamics is expected to yield several new full-solar-spectrum pho ....Two-dimensional plasmonic heterogeneous nanostructures for photocatalysis. This project aims to design and explore two-dimensional heterogeneous photocatalysts that can convert solar energy into usable chemical energy. This project will investigate the correlation between surface plasmonic resonance and photocatalytic activities on the atomic level. Heterogeneous engineering and in-situ investigation of atomic-level photocatalytic dynamics is expected to yield several new full-solar-spectrum photocatalysts. The project is expected to contribute to the understanding of the processes and mechanisms underlying photocatalysis, and lead to useable, stable and durable photocatalytics. The outcomes will enable efficient, cost-effective and reliable production of clean energy in a low-emission way.Read moreRead less
Efficient photovoltaic-electrochemical water splitting for clean hydrogen. This project aims to develop a novel, low cost and high performance monolithic photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC) device for clean hydrogen production. This device tailors and integrates low cost and high performance thin film and tandem photovoltaics for water splitting with the aim of achieving high solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency towards 20%. Earth abundant and stable catalysts will be developed in this proje ....Efficient photovoltaic-electrochemical water splitting for clean hydrogen. This project aims to develop a novel, low cost and high performance monolithic photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC) device for clean hydrogen production. This device tailors and integrates low cost and high performance thin film and tandem photovoltaics for water splitting with the aim of achieving high solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency towards 20%. Earth abundant and stable catalysts will be developed in this project to replace noble based catalysts, as well as novel architectures for electrical contacting, feed-through and catalyst integration in PV-EC devices. These innovations offer high performance and the potential for device costs 2 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than recent world record photoelectrochemical devices. Read moreRead less